Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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268. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the cost to the Exchequer if the existing subsidy to domestic group and private water users were to cover the full cost of those schemes to their users. [3166/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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To ensure parity of treatment between domestic consumers in the public water system and the group water sector, a subsidy grant was introduced by my Department for group water schemes in 1997. The subsidy is payable to a group water scheme towards their operating costs of providing water for domestic use. The subsidy is payable annually and paid on a per house basis once the scheme qualifies. The subsidy is intended for, on the basis of supply for consumption by an average household, a scheme meeting its operating costs in providing water for domestic use. The subsidy is paid to schemes by local authorities, who are recouped the expenditure in full through my Department's Rural Water Programme.

To ensure equity of treatment with households on public water supplies the subsidy rates were adjusted down in 2015 to reflect the new domestic water charging regime introduced on 1 January 2015. Subsequently in 2016 the subsidy rates were adjusted up to the pre-2015 levels to reflect the suspension of charges. The subsidy amounts recouped to local authorities by my Department for 2014 – 2016 are set out in the table (the adjustments to the subsidy rates are reflected in the variations in amount recouped over the 2014 – 2016 period).

My Department will give further consideration to the subsidies available for the operation of group water schemes following Oireachtas decisions on the enduring funding model for public domestic water services so as to ensure continued parity of treatment between households connected to the public network and those on group water schemes. However, should domestic water charges not be restored, an estimate of the ongoing annual cost of the subsidy scheme to my Department (and in turn the Exchequer), is €24 million.